This invention relates to a vehicle cargo carrier attachment and, more particularly, to an attachment adapted to connect to a receiver-type trailer hitch.
The proliferation in recent years of compact automobiles has reduced the available cargo space within such automobiles. Four passengers in a modern compact automobile leave very little room for cargo and personal belongings. Trunk space is limited as well. It is often desirable, however, particularly for hunting, camping and other outdoor recreational activities, to transport sleeping bags, tents, water jugs and various other bulky items in a vehicle.
A variety of devices are known for fastening to the exterior of an automobile to carry luggage and other items. For example, luggage racks are known which are positioned on top of the automobile. Racks of that type are burdensome to install as they typically are fastened to the vehicle in four places. They are hard to reach from the ground and therefore difficult to load and unload.
Other devices are known which attach to the rear bumper of the automobile. It has been found, however, that automobile bumpers typically are structurally inadequate to support substantial loads. Accordingly, most devices intended for attachment to the automobile bumper also include brackets for attachment to the frame of the automobile. Examples of devices of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,334,761 and 3,103,290. These devices are very difficult to install and remove because of the need to crawl under the vehicle to clamp the devices onto the frame.
Another load carrying attachment designed for mounting on the rear of a motor vehicle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,694. That device is attached in a cantilevered fashion, supported at one point by a standard trailer hitch ball, and at other points on the frame underneath the vehicle. Additionally, it is attached to the automobile bumper. All of this complexity makes it time-consuming and difficult to install and remove from a vehicle. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,443 shows an animal carrier which clamps onto an automobile bumper at two locations and onto a ball-type trailer hitch at a third location.
Other load-carrying devices for use with automobiles are known which are adapted for bolting on to the tongue of a standard ball-type automobile trailer hitch. To use such devices, the ball is first removed from the hitch. An apparatus of that type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,947. A subsequent patent issued to the same inventor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,410, shows a similar apparatus that is adapted for carrying a bicycle. Another vehicle trailer hitch mounted bicycle carrier is shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. 294,564. These devices are not suitable for containing a plurality of articles or for bearing large loads.
Contemporary automobile design favors bumpers that are integrated into the exterior shape of the automobile for aesthetic and perhaps aerodynamic reasons. Generally, little or no access is provided to get around the edges to the inside of the bumper. Thus, cargo carriers that require clamping around the rear bumper cannot be used on many modern vehicles.
Another popular trend, particularly for outdoor recreational uses such as hunting and snow skiing, is the use of motor vehicles which are a hybrid of a conventional passenger vehicle or station wagon and a panel truck. These types of vehicles often are referred to by their trade names such as Bronco or Blazer. Frequently, a spare tire is mounted on the rear end of the vehicle which interferes with the use of bumper-mounted carriers, such as those described above.
Accordingly, the need remains for a cargo carrier attachment for use with a vehicle which can be quickly and easily attached to and detached from the vehicle, preferably without the need for tools.